Cost comparison..Prius Vs. Conventional car (same size)

other considerations

well, the prius does go through tires (detriment), but...

7500 mile services, so less motor oil for the Prius (than many other cars)

first 5 regularly scheduled maintenances are free (3 year/37500miles)

free roadside assistance for 3years/36000 miles

lowered emissions - SULEV (less smog)

pretty good mileage (less gas used (so less oil used), and fewer greenhouse gasses

nice warranties... and the $2000 federal clean fuel vehicle tax deduction.

when making comparisons with another vehicle, make sure that both vehicles have the same equipment (standard items the same on both, or add accessories to make them match). Also add in any extra perks that come with the vehicle.

EDMUNDS.COM

I was recently killing time over on http://www.edmunds.com and ran across something that was really interesting. They did a price comparison for every car. LITERALLY!!

They are referring to it as "True Cost of Ownership" and it is shown in $/mile. They explain it on their site, but the basics are 5 year financed purchase with car being sold at 5 year mark, 15,000 miles/year. Price includes 7 factors - Depreciation, Insurance, Repairs, Maintenance, Gas, Financing and Taxes.

Off the top of my head I can remember a few.

2003 Honda Civic = $0.31-0.35
2003 Toyota Prius = $0.39 (2004 will be lower probably!!)
2003 Audi A4 = $0.49
2003 Audi A4 Quattro = $0.51
2003 BMW 325i = $0.55
2003 Honda S2000 = $0.57
2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe = $0.59
2003 SUBURBAN = $0.68 !!!! (didn't realize this was a luxury car)
2003 Acura NSX = $1.15
2003 Porsche 911 Turbo = $1.50

(This is not a comparison between how you might drive two different cars, but it is a comparison how you would drive regardless of vehicle. My point is that the average Porsche owner averages less than 7,000 miles a year, because they usually have another car. BUT it does give you a good idea of the differences between a handful of cars.)

Re: EDMUNDS.COM

mgithens said:

I was recently killing time over on http://www.edmunds.com and ran across something that was really interesting. They did a price comparison for every car. LITERALLY!!

They are referring to it as "True Cost of Ownership" and it is shown in $/mile. They explain it on their site, but the basics are 5 year financed purchase with car being sold at 5 year mark, 15,000 miles/year. Price includes 7 factors - Depreciation, Insurance, Repairs, Maintenance, Gas, Financing and Taxes.

Off the top of my head I can remember a few.

2003 Honda Civic = $0.31-0.35
2003 Toyota Prius = $0.39 (2004 will be lower probably!!)
2003 Audi A4 = $0.49
2003 Audi A4 Quattro = $0.51
2003 BMW 325i = $0.55
2003 Honda S2000 = $0.57
2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe = $0.59
2003 SUBURBAN = $0.68 !!!! (didn't realize this was a luxury car)
2003 Acura NSX = $1.15
2003 Porsche 911 Turbo = $1.50

(This is not a comparison between how you might drive two different cars, but it is a comparison how you would drive regardless of vehicle. My point is that the average Porsche owner averages less than 7,000 miles a year, because they usually have another car. BUT it does give you a good idea of the differences between a handful of cars.)

Click to expand...

If only Edmunds.com included the
free maintenances for the Prius in the
US (first 5 regularly scheduled maintenances,
up through 3yr/37500 mi.), and also
the free included roadside assistance
plan (3yr/36000mi.) in the cost/benefit
analysis...

Also, it's kinda hard to compare
base models to base models... Some
may come with CD players standard,
some may be manual transmissions vs.
automatics vs. the Prius's ECVT, some
may have power everything while others
still have crank windows, etc.